Neighbours fallen out with us

[Ilovewatchingthedrama]

Could I have a bit of perspective on this please?

Our neighbours of many many years installed a high pitched bird scared in their back garden. It drives us crazy and it doesn’t actually stop the pigeons going into their garden. We have asked them a couple of themes if they could turn it off or at least down. When they refused we asked if they could at least leave it off until later in the morning as DD was sleeping in the back bedroom and it was waking her up. That was also met with a refusal. So the weather got nicer again and it meant we couldn’t sit in the back garden or have the patio doors open. We tried one last time but again they refused to turn it off stating what he did in his property was up to him - if only the sound stopped at the boundary that would be fair enough. we made a noise complaint to the council. They got a letter and we got a diary sheet to fill in. One of our other neighbours spoke to them (they are also sick of the noise but not willing to do anything about it) and he told them nothing was going to change. Someone else must have made a complaint as the council guy came out to him and told him to remove it. Neighbour is now chatting shit about us and the easy going relationship we had has gone forever. I know how different noises can be perceived differently by different people but we couldn’t stand that high pitched whining.

was I unreasonable to take whatever steps necessary to allow me to use my garden ?

That's what happens when you become incapacitated and disorientated with pain. Apparently. Wish I could have treated him to lashings of ginger beer. Those fox/cat scarers should be banned.

Yes, it went the day they came out thankfully but I’m sitting here waiting for what he is going to do next because he is not the type of bloke who likes to lose face. He was very cocky with the neighbour on the other side of him when he announced nothing was going to change. We are in a semi but our gardens are separated by a 6 foot fence , the other neighbours on the other side of him didn’t want to get involved because they share a passageway to the back gardens with him and they can see each other

I had a noisy neighbour a few years ago - ran a business in their (tiny) garden during lockdown. Power tools running all day.
I complained to the Council. To give them credit they did stop the racket and moved the business out to somewhere else.
Atmosphere was a bit frosty after that...

Go out under cover of darkness and take the batteries out.

He sounds like a petty bastard! Just seen if he does anything next and keep a record of it.

I would say they are faulty, not a noise normally hear. FIL had some that used to scream but they were old - bought him new ones and they were fine.

Your neighbour, as weird as it can be falling out, left you no choice. You asked and asked. Sometimes people like that you cannot please in any shape or form so don't worry about them anymore.

We did think about that at one point or shooting it with an air rifle lol. His garden has 360 deg cctv and about 6 flood lights and we have tiny little gardens.

Have you got a ring doorbell? neighbour opposite reported us having a camera on our cars.. Police (hobby Bobby) came out and it's on our cars and stop at the road. Perfectly legal. To keep an eye after other side batshit ndn came a calling pissed having a go at me.

Your neighbour is a dick to be that selfish and inconsiderate of the rest of the neighbourhood. It is physically PAINFUL for so many people who can hear high pitched sounds, especially younger people.

I'd get some cameras up tbh ... he sounds unreasonable and potentially unhinged if he'll view this as a 'loss' and feel the need to even the score. Whatever that means in his head. Ugh

Gosh what an unintelligent neighbour. YANBU at all! The previous peaceful relationship you had was based on him being unchallenged. Those noise polluting devices should be illegal.

I feel your pain OP.

My neighbour opposite has put one in the front garden - the slightest thing sets it off as it’s one of those cheap ones from Amazon. It’s pointed directly at our house, our bedroom is front of the house and I can hear it. Last week with the hot weather and windows open it was driving me fully insane. Today it seems they’ve messed with the pitch and my skin was crawling.

Its also torturing any dogs being walked past it, including both my next door neighbours every time they leave the house.

YANBU at all and your neighbour is a cockend.

You were right to complain, younger people are far more affected by high pitch noise than older. If you have a young child they will have heard it much more than you and than them. If they're older they probably can't hear it as badly.

Just be reassured you did the right thing and ignore them.

My neighbours but one have a rodent thing. It goes of for about five seconds about three times a minute. I couldn’t hear it but it drive my son mad. Then it malfunctioned and everyone could hear it - and the occupants had died a year ago so house is empty! Fortunately someone contacted the daughter and she came and turned it off. They use these sorts of things in areas where youths gather as a deterrent as they are generally more sensitive to the noise.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over losing neighbourly relations with him, he sounds like a twat.

Just be glad the noise is gone.

One of our neighbours has one. Fortunately for me, they live far enough away from my house that I'm not disturbed by it in my own home, but it really startled me the first time I walked past it.

Sorry your neighbour has turned out to be an arse.
If it's one of those high pitched ones, he probably can't hear it himself - high end pitch is lost with age and accelerated with loud exposures. Someone in my village got one a few years ago and because they couldn't hear it, they didn't realise that the max volume could be heard literally 200-300m away. I couldn't even walk past their house it was so painful. They complained on the village FB page when someone smashed it. Only at that point was it pointed out that a lot of other people could hear it, and they were quite apologetic about it.

Definitely not unreasonable and it sounds like the council are on your side. They’re noisy enough when you hear them from a distance so I can’t imagine what it’s like next door to you.

I would get a ring doorbell as additional protection to help put your mind at rest if you really think retaliation is possible.

Hopefully he will back off now. Bullies often do.

We are the same! The funny thing is that all the cats and foxes are still having the time of their lives, the only thing it did is drive DH from the garden😂.

Let them chat all the shit about you they like, the selfish bastards! They're probably the most unpopular wankers on the street anyway 😂

The first line of this comment sums it up.

He sounds like a lunatic! Is it a family home or Stalag 17?!

I always thought I was the sort of person who didn't fall out with neighbours but sometimes neighbours can have habits that impact you and you have a choice - to complain and risk a fall out or just to put up with it - neither of which are great options. I fell out with a neighbour after 15 years of peaceful co-existing but I realised that really I'd been putting up with their nonsense and denying my own reality - sometimes you just have to face the fact that neighbours can be a complete pain in the proverbial arse and whilst having them blank you or whatever isn't great, neither is smiling whilst they continue with their pigeon scaring unbearable sounding scarer. Not being able to open your windows/waking up your kid at the crack of dawn ... not great. Accept the fall out and keep going in the full knowledge that you are a reasonable person who has reached your limit.

I’m an acoustic consultant and what’s considered a nuisance is very personal but the council wouldn’t act if they didn’t agree - no doubt it was more than one complainant anyway. You asked him several times. yanbu

Yanbu. You got the result you wanted and needed. That matters more than preserving the relationship. Noise nuisance can be life ruining. He can try other less controversial ways of keeping the pigeons away such as spikes on the top of his fence if he has one.